Does Methadone Make You Moody?
Question by N A: Does Methadone make you moody?
I just found out my friend has been weaning off methadone and he is very very irritable, depressed and lethargic. I cannot hold a conversation with him without him getting upset at me. We just argued because he said my house had ghosts in it and he saw green slime coming from my air vents, which is not true. I was wondering if methadone causes irritability or is it just me? This is driving me nuts as well. It’s very taxing on me mentally to put up with petty arguments. Please help!
Best answer:
Answer by J Miller
No, methadone does not make you moody. Withdrawal from methadone can though. Most likely that’s why your friend is moody and depressed. He’s probably going down too fast. It’s very, very important that a person who is being weaned off methadone goes very, very slow to make sure that he gets minimal side effects. If his side effects are bad now, which they sound like they are, he may have to increase his dose a bit and stay there for a while to stabilize again. After being stable for a while he can start tapering again. A proper methadone taper can take as much as two years or more depending on the original dose and how the person is handling it.
How long has your friend used methadone or other opiates? If it’s been for a longer period of time chances are good that your friend has permanent or semi-permanent brain damage. What happens when you use opiates regularly for a longer period of time is that the brain stops producing enough of the body’s natural opiates called endorphins. Methadone and other opiates are sort of an artificial endorphin and when the brain gets flooded with these it doesn’t see a need to make its own endorphins. Sometimes this is temporary and the brain will fix itself over time while in some cases it’s permanent or takes a very, very long time.
Endorphins are needed to calm you down, reduce pain, etc. When your brain is not making enough you will get depressed, anxious, moody and extra sensitive to pain, etc. It sounds like this is what is happening to your friend. Some people that have endorphin deficiencies get debilitating depressions which sometimes leads to hospitalizations and even suicide. It’s very, very hard to deal with. Usually people with endorphin deficiencies who get off methadone will end up relapsing before long. It’s very common.
If a person’s endorphin production is permanently damaged they may have to stay on methadone for a very long time or for life in order to function and not be so severely depressed. It’s similar to how people with diabetes has to take insulin since their body doesn’t produce enough natural insulin. It is a treatment to treat endorphin deficiency.
I would recommend that you tell your friend to do some research on endorphin deficiency so that he understands what’s wrong with him and what he needs to do. He also needs to understand that if he has to stay on methadone or increase his dose there is no shame in that and it does not mean that he is a drug user just using legal drugs as many think. It’s a medication treating a disorder and a lot of people need medication.
Anti-depressants don’t usually work well for people with endorphin deficiencies but they do work in some cases. It’s worth a shot to try it. Other medications can also be used to lessen the effects of withdrawal. Have your friend talk to his doctor about what he should do from here on.
Oh, I also wanted to add that the ghosts and slime issue is alarming to me. It sounds like he could be hallucinating which is not a normal sign of withdrawal. He really should re-stabilize on methadone and see a psychiatrist about these issues.
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